Letters for My Siblings: Call for Submissions

Letters for My Siblings

I have some exciting news for you! I have been invited to be part of a new book, Letters for My Siblings, as a co-editor. But I said exciting news for you, not for me (though it is also exciting for me).

Most of you, dear readers, have blogs of your own. In some of the comments you’ve left here you’ve managed to wrangle these murky gender topics with such eloquence that I would love nothing more than to read more of your adventures, advice, triumphs and tribulations, and share your wisdom with the rest of our community.

Please share widely, and I will be enthusiastically encouraging you to submit a piece.

Details

The Lambda Literary Finalist Letters for My Brothersasked transsexual men to pass on to their pre-transition selves any important advice that they had as post-transition men. In Letters for My Siblings, we wish to capture short pieces of a similar spirit from people who are non-binary, genderqueer, gender non-conforming, bigender, agender, or who simply don’t fit nicely into the boxes of “man” and “woman”.

Send all submissions to lettersformysiblings@gmail.com by February 1, 2014. Authors will be notified of acceptance within six weeks of the submission deadline.

What To Write

Your submission should be between 500 and 2500 words and address one or more of the prompts below.

(Not all prompts will apply to all writers. Your submission should be about your own lived experience — please avoid delving too far into the theoretical, or making broad generalizations about any group (even one that you belong to).

What does it mean to transition as a non-binary identified person? How have you transitioned medically, legally, socially, or otherwise, and why? Has your transition been an important part of your identity and/or experience? How and why?

Where do you fit in the larger trans* community? Have you found friendship and connection among other trans* people, binary or non-binary? Have you encountered discrimination or resistance to your identity within the trans* community?

Have you been able to find or create language to describe your gender/experience? Are you intentional about using (or NOT using) particular words for your gender / experience? Why do you use (or not use) these?

How has your non-binary identity intersected with other parts of your identity, such as your race, class, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, physical ability/disability, or age? Are there times when these other parts of your identity come in conflict with your gender? If so, how do you manage these conflicts?

What do you like about being non-binary? What is your biggest frustration? How do you navigate a world set up only for men and women?

Who are your mentors? Who has guided you on your journey / transition? Who do you look up to?

What advice would you give to genderqueer/gender non-conforming/non-binary people who are at the beginning of their journey?

As compensation for their contribution, all authors will receive a free copy of the anthology upon its publication. Transgress Press will donate all proceeds to organizations benefiting trans communities.

7 responses to “Letters for My Siblings: Call for Submissions”

I started working on a piece a couple of days ago. That’s really exciting you were asked to co-edit it!
ps – I’m the person who approached you at the PTHC to ask about long-term hormone use without physical changes. I’ve since started my own blog about it!

Our beneficiaries include:
CK Life: providing the Trans community with the tools needed to achieve their personal goals while having a sense of community and kinship.
Jim Collins Foundation: providing financial assistance to transgender people for gender-confirming surgeries.
The Self Made Men: support and mentoring of other transgender people as a resource to transitioning and dealing with everyday life.